INDIANAPOLIS, April 6 (UPI) -- Brian Zoubek made a clutch defensive play with 10 seconds remaining Monday and Duke held on for an epic 61-59, national championship win over Butler.
In a thrilling conclusion to the college basketball season, Duke won its fourth national crown under Coach Mike Krzyzewski and brought an end to Butler's 25-game winning streak.
The Bulldogs, however, demonstrated they were worthy of a spot in the NCAA title game and they almost came away with the victory.
With Butler trailing by one point and the final moments ticking away, Gordon Hayward tried to put the Bulldogs in front. He dribbled through the Duke defense and stopped at the baseline to put up a short jumper that might have won it.
The 7-foot-1 Zoubek, however, lunged toward Hayward and the Duke center's long reach forced Hayward to put more arc on the shot than he normally would. That shot bounced off the rim, Zoubek grabbed the rebound with 3.6 seconds remaining and was immediately fouled.
Zoubek made his first free throw, but missed the second. Hayward collected the rebound and had just enough time to get to midcourt before gathering himself and launching a 3-point attempt just before the buzzer that would have given Butler the title.
That attempt came close to being what would have likely gone down as the greatest shot in NCAA championship history, but it hit the rim and bounced away.
The teams battled on even terms throughout the contest, with Duke's biggest lead in the second half being only five points.
Kyle Singler led Duke with 19 points and the Blue Devils limited Butler to just 34 percent shooting from the field. Butler, however, held its own on the backboards against the taller Blue Devils and committed four fewer turnovers.
Duke finished 35-5 and Krzyzewski is now tied with Kentucky's Adolph Rupp for second place in NCAA basketball titles. UCLA's John Wooden has 10.
Butler (33-5), which began the tournament as a No. 5 seed, was led by 12 points each from Hayward and Shelvin Mack.
